CN107735183B - Coating system and corresponding operating method - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a coating system for coating a component with a coating agent, in particular for coating a motor vehicle body component, comprising: a first coating-system component (12, 13) which, during operation, generates waste heat as a by-product and forms a heat source; and a second coating-system component (1, 5) which is heated during operation and forms a heat sink. The invention proposes to supply the residual heat of the first coating system component (12, 13) to the second coating system component (1, 5) for heating. The invention also relates to a corresponding operating method.

Description

Coating system and corresponding operation method

technical field

The present invention relates to a coating system for coating components, in particular in the form of a coating system for coating motor vehicle body parts. The invention also relates to a corresponding method of operation for such a coating system.

Background technique

In modern painting systems for painting motor vehicle body parts, rotary atomizers that emit a jet of paint to be applied by means of a rotating bell cup known per se from the prior art are generally used as application device. The mechanical drive of the rotating bell cup is usually carried out by means of a compressed air turbine arranged in the rotary atomizer and driven by compressed air.

The problem here is that the compressed air expands in the compressed air turbine, thereby cooling, which can lead to the destructive formation of condensate in the compressed air turbine.

In order to solve this problem, it is known from the prior art to heat the compressed air, eg by means of an electric heater, before it is fed to the compressed air turbine. The disadvantage of this solution, however, is the additional investment cost for the electric heater and the operating cost for operating the electric heater, since electrical energy has to be provided for this.

In known painting systems for painting motor vehicle body parts, the rotary atomizer is usually guided by a multi-axis painting machine, wherein the painting robot is driven by a robot drive, which usually includes an electric motor and gears box.

The problem with such robotic drives is that unwanted waste heat is generated in the motor and gearbox, which must be conducted away in order to prevent an excessive rise in operating temperature. However, it is difficult to remove residual heat from robotic drives, as such robotic drives are typically housed in explosion-proof enclosures such that the enclosure not only has the desired effect of preventing sparks from entering the potentially explosive paint booth. Furthermore, the cladding of the robotic drive also hinders the removal of unwanted residual heat from the robotic drive.

A coating system is known from DE 10 2013 006 334 A1 in which cooling, which occurs as a by-product of the operation of a pneumatic pump, is used to cool heat-sensitive coating system components (eg “track chambers”). This document thus only discloses a cooling device and a corresponding cooling method.

In addition, reference is made to DE 3907437 A1, DE 19536626 A1 and US 2006/0261192 A1 with regard to the prior art.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a suitably improved coating system and corresponding method of operation.

This object is achieved with the coating system and method of operation according to the present invention.

The present invention includes the general technical teaching of using waste heat from a robotic drive to heat a process medium (eg, compressed air) of a rotary atomizer. In this way, two problems can be solved in the present invention. Firstly, the robot drive is thereby cooled, since the residual heat of the robot drive is dissipated. Secondly, by using the waste heat of the robot drive, the electric heater for heating the treatment medium can be omitted, which can reduce the investment cost and operating cost of the coating system.

The coating system of the invention thus firstly has a first coating system component which, during operation, generates waste heat as a by-product and thus forms a heat source. This first coating system component can be, for example, a robot drive that generates residual heat, as exemplarily explained above.

However, the present invention is not limited to robotic drives with regard to the first coating system component that generates the residual heat. Rather, the first coating system component in the present invention that produces waste heat may also be an additional component that produces waste heat as a by-product that can be used in the present invention. Merely by way of example, mention should be made of a drive for a conveyor system, or a drive of a movement axis of a painting robot.

The concept of the first coating system component that generates waste heat used in the present invention should be distinguished from the above-mentioned conventional heaters used to heat the driving air of the rotary atomizer, which although generating heat, do not Additional functions are implemented in the system. The expression of the first coating system component that generates the residual heat thus refers to the following components, assemblies or elements of the coating system which, in addition to their heating function, perform other functions in the coating system ( For example, driving a painting robot) and generating waste heat only as a by-product.

Furthermore, the coating system of the present invention comprises a second coating system component which must be heated during operation and thereby form a heat sink. In a preferred exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the second coating system component is a compressed air turbine whose intake air is heated in order to prevent the formation of condensation water in the compressed air turbine.

However, the present invention is not limited to compressed air turbines with regard to the second coating system component to be heated. In the present invention, for example, there is also the possibility that the shaping air emitted by the rotary atomizer for shaping the jet is heated, wherein the shaping air jet itself is known from the prior art and therefore does not need to be further description.

It is a feature of the invention that normally unused waste heat of a first coating system component (eg a robot drive) is supplied to a second coating system component (eg a compressed air turbine or supply air to a compressed air turbine) in order to heat the first coating system Two coating system components.

In a preferred exemplary embodiment of the invention, a heat exchanger is provided which absorbs waste heat from a first coating system component (eg a robot drive) and supplies the waste heat to a second coating system component ( e.g. drive air for compressed air turbines).

Preferably the heat exchanger is connected on the warm side of the heat exchanger to a first coating system component (eg a robotic drive) that generates waste heat and transfers the absorbed waste heat to the gaseous or liquid material stream on the cold side of the heat exchanger ( such as compressed air flow). The heat transfer from the waste heat generating first coating system component (eg the rotary atomizer) to the heat exchanger is therefore preferably mainly or exclusively by heat conduction. However, on the cold side of the heat exchanger, heat transfer from the heat exchanger to the flow of material (eg, drive air) preferably occurs by heat conduction and heat convection.

It should also be mentioned that the second coating system component to be heated (eg a rotary atomizer) is preferably operated with a liquid treatment medium or a gaseous treatment medium (eg compressed air). For example, conventional rotary atomizers use compressed air as drive air for driving the compressed air turbine, as shaping air for shaping the jet and as bearing air for supporting the bell-cup shaft in the compressed air turbine. In the present invention, waste heat from a first coating system component (eg, robotic drive) can be used to heat the process medium (eg, drive air, forming air) of a second coating system component (eg, rotary atomizer). For this purpose, the treatment medium to be heated is preferably first supplied to a heat exchanger and then in a heated state to a second coating system component (eg a rotary atomizer).

As briefly mentioned above, the first coating system component that generates the residual heat can be, for example, a robot drive which mechanically drives a robot of the coating system (eg painting robot, handling robot). Such robotic drives typically have electric motors and gearboxes that both generate waste heat during operation that can be used in the present invention.

In a preferred exemplary embodiment of the invention, a cooling flange is arranged between the motor and the gearbox, which cooling flange conducts waste heat away from the motor and/or the gearbox, thereby cooling the robot drive. The cooling flange is here thermally connected to the motor and/or the gearbox and conducts waste heat away from the motor and/or the gearbox, in particular via a heat exchanger, which can be integrated into the cooling flange. It is advantageous here that the cooling flange is connected to the gearbox on one side and to the motor on the other side, since this achieves a good thermal contact with the motor and the gearbox.

In a preferred exemplary embodiment of the invention, the cooling flange has two housing parts which, in the installed state, are arranged one above the other and enclose the housing interior in a sealing manner. Both housing parts preferably have cylindrical bores through which the output shaft of the motor or the input shaft of the gearbox can enter, wherein the bores are sealed with respect to the interior of the housing. The cooling flange preferably has an inlet and an outlet, wherein the process medium to be heated (for example compressed air) is introduced into the housing interior through the inlet and discharged from the housing interior through the outlet.

During operation, the cooling flange is heated due to heat transfer from the gearbox and motor, wherein heat is dissipated from the inner wall of the cooling flange to the process medium (eg compressed air) located in the interior space of the housing. Therefore, it is desirable to be able to achieve the best possible heat transfer from the inner wall of the cooling flange to the process medium (eg compressed air) located in the interior space of the housing. For this purpose, the cooling flange preferably has at least one rib on the inside, which rib protrudes into the interior space of the housing, thereby increasing the contact area between the cooling flange and the treatment medium, which facilitates heat transfer. In a preferred embodiment, the cooling flange has ribs in the interior space of the housing in order to improve heat transfer.

Furthermore, the ribs, the inlet and the outlet are preferably arranged such that the treatment medium forms an annular flow between the inlet and outlet of the cooling flange, said annular flow extending around the holes for the input shaft and/or the output shaft. In this way, it is achieved that the treatment medium remains in the interior of the housing for a relatively long time, which also contributes to good heating of the treatment medium (eg compressed air) in the cooling flange.

As briefly mentioned above, the coating system of the present invention may comprise at least one robot (eg painting robot, handling robot), wherein the residual heat of the associated robot drive may be used to heat a second coating system component (eg Compressed air for compressed air turbines). Preferably, such a robot comprises a robot base, a rotatable robotic element, a pivotable proximal robotic arm (referred to in technical terms as "Arm 1"), a pivotable distal robotic arm (referred to as "Arm 1") Arm 2") and axes of multi-axis robots known from the prior art, the robot base being fixed or movable along a movement axis. A robot drive with a motor and a gearbox, which supplies the waste heat, can be installed here, for example, in a robot base or a rotatable robot element.

It has already been mentioned in the introduction to the prior art that the robot drive of the painting machine can be enclosed in an enclosure, which may be necessary for explosion protection reasons, since an explosive atmosphere can be generated in the painting booth. The enclosure of the robot drive can thus be constructed in accordance with DIN ISO 60079 as a pressure-resistant, overpressure-resistant or oil-resistant enclosure. In the context of the present invention, it should be mentioned that the treatment medium to be heated (for example compressed air) is fed into the cladding, then heated in the cladding, and finally discharged out of the cladding again. In this case, it is advantageous to feed the treatment medium into the cladding and to remove the treatment medium from the cladding without impairing the explosion-proofness of the cladding and also in compliance with the statutory requirements for explosion protection, in particular according to DIN EN ISO 60079 Require.

It has already been briefly mentioned that the use of the waste heat of the robot drive to heat the compressed air makes it possible to reduce the capital and operating costs of the coating system by eliminating the need for additional heaters. However, in the present invention, an electric heater can also be used, eg if the robot drive does not provide enough residual heat when it starts to work.

Finally, it should also be mentioned that the invention also relates to a corresponding operating method, as already mentioned in the above description, so that a separate description of the operating method can be dispensed with.

Description of drawings

Other advantageous developments of the invention are described in more detail below together with preferred embodiments of the invention with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the attached image:

Figure 1 shows a schematic diagram of a painting system according to the invention, wherein the residual heat of the robot drive is used to heat the compressed air for the rotary atomizer,

Figure 2 shows a perspective view of a painting robot of the invention with a heat exchanger in a rotatable robot element,

FIG. 3 shows a simplified view of the housing components of the cooling flange between the electric motor and the gearbox of FIG. 1 .

Detailed ways

The figures show different views of the painting system of the invention for painting motor vehicle body parts.

The painting system thus comprises a rotary atomizer 1 which, by means of a rotating bell cup 2, emits a spray jet 3 of the paint to be applied, as is known per se from the prior art.

In order to form the jet jet 3 , the rotary atomizer can launch a shaped air jet 4 onto the jet jet 3 from behind, which is also known per se from the prior art.

In the rotary atomizer 1, the driving of the rotary bell cup 2 is carried out by means of a compressed air turbine 5 in a conventional manner.

The rotary atomizer 1 is guided in a conventional manner by the multi-axis painting robot 6 shown in FIG. 2 . The painting robot 6 comprises a robot base 7, which is fixed or movable along a movement axis, a rotatable robot element 8, a proximal robot arm 9 and a distal robot arm 10, wherein this configuration It is known per se from the prior art and will therefore not be described in detail.

It should be mentioned here that the painting robot 6 is equipped with a rotary atomizer 1 in the painting booth, so that the interior of the painting booth forms an explosion hazard area, as shown in FIG. 1 with the usual warning signs.

The driving of the compressed air turbine 5 in the rotary atomizer 1 is carried out using a compressed air source 11 which provides the necessary compressed air.

It is also shown in FIG. 1 that the mechanical drive of the painting robot 6 takes place by means of a robot drive comprising an electric motor 12 and a gearbox 13 . The electric motor 12 here includes an output shaft 14 connected to a gearbox 13 , wherein the gearbox 13 itself includes an output shaft 15 .

It should be mentioned here that the electric motor 12 fundamentally presents the risk that the explosive atmosphere in the painting room may be ignited by sparks. The entire robot drive with the electric motor 12 and the gear box 13 is thus arranged in an explosion-proof enclosure 16 , wherein the explosion-proof enclosure 16 complies with the standard according to DIN ISO 60079.

Here, a cooling flange 17 is arranged between the electric motor 12 and the gearbox 13, the function of which is to dissipate the inherently troublesome waste heat from the electric motor 12 and the gearbox 13 in order to prevent overheating of the robot drive. For this purpose, the compressed air source 11 is connected via a compressed air line 18 to the inlet 19 of the cooling flange 17 . The compressed air from the compressed air source 11 is thus first guided through the compressed air line 18 into the cooling flange 17 , wherein the compressed air fed in has a temperature T _IN . The compressed air fed through is then heated in the cooling flange 17 by the residual heat of the electric motor 12 and the gearbox 13 and leaves the cooling flange 17 again via the outlet 20 . The heated compressed air is then supplied to the rotary atomizer 1 via the compressed air line 21 , wherein the heated compressed air has a temperature T _OUT >T _IN in the compressed air line 21 .

It should be mentioned here that the cooling flange 17 is arranged between the electric motor 12 and the gearbox 13 and is thus heated by the gearbox 13 and the electric motor 12 . The arrangement of the cooling flange 17 between the electric motor 12 and the gearbox 13 advantageously also creates a good heat transfer between the cooling flange 17 on the one side and the electric motor 12 and/or the gearbox 13 on the other side.

In addition, FIG. 3 shows that a plurality of ribs 22 are provided in the cooling flange 17 protruding from the inner wall of the cooling flange 17 into the inner space of the housing.

Firstly, the ribs 22 increase the contact area between the inner wall of the cooling flange 17 and the compressed air to be heated and located in the interior space of the housing, which contributes to good heat transfer.

Secondly, the ribs 22 in the housing interior space of the cooling flange 17 also force a counterclockwise oriented annular flow as shown in FIG. This annular flow in the housing interior space of the cooling flange 17 ensures that the compressed air remains in the cooling flange 17 for a sufficiently long time and is thus sufficiently heated.

With regard to the hole 23 in the cooling flange 17 , it should be mentioned that it serves for the passage of the output shaft 14 of the electric motor 12 , wherein the hole 23 is sealed with respect to the housing interior space of the cooling flange 17 .

Thereby, heated compressed air is supplied to the rotary atomizer 1 and can be used to drive the compressed air turbine 5 or to output the shaped air jet 4 . The heating of the compressed air supplied here advantageously prevents the destructive formation of condensation water in the rotary atomizer 1 .

Furthermore, FIG. 3 shows an optional dividing wall 24 between the inlet 19 and the outlet 20 , wherein the dividing wall 24 determines the flow direction between the inlet 19 and the outlet 20 . It should be noted here that the dividing wall 24 is optional, ie the dividing wall 24 is not necessarily necessary for the functioning of the present invention.

Finally, as can be seen from FIG. 2 , the electric motor 12 , the gearbox 13 and the cooling flange 17 are mounted in the rotatable robotic element 8 .

The present invention is not limited to the above-described preferred exemplary embodiments. Rather, there can be numerous variations and modifications that also utilize the concept of the present invention and thus fall within the scope of protection. In particular, the invention also claims protection for the subject-matter and features of the dependent claims independently of the cited claims and in particular without the features of the main claims.

List of reference signs

1 Rotary Atomizer

2 bell cups

3 jets

4 Shaping air jets

5 Compressed air turbine

6 Painting robots

7 Robot base

8 Turnable robotic elements

9 Proximal robotic arm

10 Distal robotic arm

11 Compressed air source

12 Motors

13 Gearbox

14 Motor output shaft

15 Output shaft of the gearbox

16 Explosion-proof cladding

17 Cooling flange

18 Compressed air line

19 Inlet for cooling flange

20 Outlet of cooling flange

21 Compressed air line

22 ribs

23 Hole for passing the output shaft of the motor

24 dividing wall

T _IN Compressed air temperature at the inlet of the cooling flange

T _OUT Compressed air temperature at the outlet of the cooling flange

Claims (25)

1. A coating system for coating a component with a coating agent has

a) A first coating-system component (12, 13) which, during operation, generates residual heat as a by-product, thereby forming a heat source, an

b) A second coating-system component (1, 5) which is heated during operation and forms a heat sink,

c) wherein the residual heat of the first coating-system component (12, 13) is supplied to the second coating-system component (1, 5) for heating,

it is characterized in that the preparation method is characterized in that,

d) the first coating system component (12, 13) supplying the residual heat is a robot drive or a part of a robot drive of a robot (6) of the coating system.

2. The coating system as set forth in claim 1,

it is characterized in that the preparation method is characterized in that,

a) providing a heat exchanger (17), the heat exchanger (17) absorbing residual heat of the first coating system component (12, 13) and supplying the residual heat to the second coating system component (1, 5), and

b) the heat exchanger (17) is connected to the first coating system component (12, 13) generating the residual heat on the warm side of the heat exchanger and transfers the absorbed residual heat to the gas or liquid stream on the cold side of the heat exchanger.

3. The coating system of claim 2,

a) the second coating-system component (1, 5) to be heated is operated with a liquid or gaseous treatment medium, and

b) the waste heat of the first coating-system component (12, 13) heats the treatment medium of the second coating-system component (1, 5).

4. Coating system according to one of the preceding claims,

the part of the robot drive (12, 13) that supplies the residual heat comprises the motor (12) and/or the gearbox (13) of the robot drive (12, 13).

5. Coating system according to claim 4, characterized in that the robot drive (12, 13) comprises:

a) a motor (12) for driving the motor,

b) a gear box (13) driven by the motor (12) on the input side and mechanically driving the robot (6) on the output side, and

c) a cooling flange (17) for removing waste heat from the motor and/or the gearbox, wherein the cooling flange (17)

c1) Is arranged between the motor and the gear box,

c2) is thermally connected to the motor and/or the gearbox, and

c3) residual heat is derived from the motor and/or gearbox.

6. The coating system of claim 5, wherein the coating system,

the method is characterized in that:

a) the cooling flange (17) comprises two housing parts which, in the mounted state, are arranged in contact with one another and enclose the housing interior space in a sealed manner, or the cooling flange (17) is in one piece, and

b) the two housing parts each have a cylindrical bore (23) for the passage of a shaft of the motor (12) or the gearbox (13), wherein, in the mounted state, the two bores (23) are coaxially oriented and sealed off from the housing interior, and

c) the cooling flange (17) comprises an inlet (19) for introducing a treatment medium to be heated into the interior space of the housing, and

d) the cooling flange (17) comprises an outlet (20) for conducting the heated treatment medium out of the interior space of the housing, and

e) the cooling flange (17) comprises at least one rib (22) on the inside, said rib (22) protruding into the housing interior in order to improve the thermal contact between the cooling flange (17) and the process medium located in the housing interior, and

f) the treatment medium is guided between the inlet (19) and the outlet (20) by ribs (22) surrounding the bore (23) so that an annular flow of treatment medium is formed around the bore (23), an

g) The cooling flange (17) comprises a partition wall (24), said partition wall (24) being arranged between the inlet (19) and the outlet (20).

7. Coating system according to one of the claims 1 to 3,

a) the second coating system component (1) is a rotary atomizer (1), the rotary atomizer (1) emitting a jet (3) of coating agent,

b) the residual heat of the first coating system component (12, 13) heats the compressed air supplied to the compressed air turbine (5) of the rotary atomizer (1) in order to prevent the formation of condensate in the compressed air turbine (5) and/or

c) The residual heat of the first coating system component (12, 13) heats the shaping air supplied to the rotary atomizer (1), which shaping air is emitted by the rotary atomizer (1) in order to shape the spray jet (3).

8. Coating system according to claim 2 or 3,

a) the coating system comprises at least one robot (6), said robot (6) having a robot base (7), a rotatable robot element (8), a proximal robot arm (9) and a distal robot arm (10), and

b) the coating system components (12, 13) supplying residual heat and/or the heat exchanger (17) are mounted in the robot base (7) or in the rotatable robot element (8).

9. Coating system according to claim 2 or 3,

a) the first coating-system component (12, 13), the second coating-system component (1, 5) and/or the heat exchanger (17) supplying the residual heat are enclosed in an envelope (16), and

b) the cladding (16) is an explosion-proof cladding (16) according to DINISO 60079, and

c) the process medium to be heated is fed into the jacket (16), then heated in the jacket (16) and finally discharged from the jacket, and

d) the supply of the treatment medium into the cladding (16) and the removal of the treatment medium from the cladding (16) meet the requirements of explosion-proof cladding.

10. Coating system according to one of the claims 1 to 3,

a) the second coating system component (1, 5) is heated only by the residual heat of the first coating system component, without an additional heater, or

b) For heating the second coating system component (1, 5), a heater is additionally provided.

11. The coating system of claim 1, wherein the coating system coats a component with a coating.

12. The coating system of claim 1, wherein the coating system coats an automotive body part with a coating agent.

13. The coating system of claim 1, wherein the coating system is a painting system.

14. Coating system according to claim 1, characterized in that the robot is a painting robot (6) or a handling robot of the coating system.

15. A coating system according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the second coating system component (1, 5) is operated with compressed air.

16. A coating system according to claim 3, characterized in that the treatment medium first flows through the heat exchanger (17) and is then fed to the second coating system component (1, 5).

17. A coating system according to claim 5, wherein said robot drive (12, 13) comprises an electric motor (12).

18. Coating system according to claim 9, wherein the envelope (16) is a pressure-proof envelope, an overpressure-resistant envelope or an oil-resistant envelope.

19. Coating system according to claim 9, characterized in that the feeding of the treatment medium into the cladding (16) and the leading of the treatment medium out of the cladding (16) fulfill the requirements according to DIN ISO 60079.

20. The coating system of claim 10, wherein the heater is an electric air heater.

21. A method of operating a coating system for coating a component with a coating agent, the method of operation having the steps of:

a) operating the first coating-system component (12, 13), wherein the first coating-system component (12, 13) generates waste heat as a by-product,

b) operating the second coating-system component (1, 5), wherein heat is supplied to the second coating-system component (1, 5),

c) supplying the residual heat of the first coating-system component (12, 13) to the second coating-system component (1, 5) for heating the second coating-system component (1, 5),

it is characterized in that the preparation method is characterized in that,

d) the first coating system component (12, 13) supplying the residual heat is a robot drive or a part of a robot drive of a robot (6) of the coating system.

22. The operating method according to claim 21, characterized in that the operating method is an operating method for a coating system for coating a component with paint.

23. The operating method according to claim 21, characterized in that the operating method is an operating method for a coating system for coating motor vehicle body parts with a coating agent.

24. The operating method according to claim 21, characterized in that the operating method is an operating method of a coating system for coating a component with a coating agent.

25. Operating method according to claim 21, characterized in that the robot is a painting robot (6) or a handling robot of a coating system.

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